Modernizing the Grid:

Keeping the Dialogue Going

July 25, 2011 - Over the last few weeks, I have traveled around the country to talk – and listen – about what is being done to modernize the nation’s electric grid. Across the U.S., utilities and communities are developing smart, viable solutions that address their specific needs. For example, at the University of Vermont’s conference on “Powering the Future: The Vermont Smart Grid and Beyond,” I spoke with Senator Bernie Sanders and other Vermont officials about how the e-Vermont project is leveraging investments in smart grid, broadband and health care IT.

Michigan, meanwhile, is leading the way on incorporating electric vehicle charging infrastructure into the smart grid. While in Dearborn, I spoke at the “Smart Grid Symposium: Transforming to a Smart and Secure Electric Power Grid” about the importance of improved grid reliability, resiliency and customer service. The following week, I visited Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where I spoke at an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers conference about the role of technologies such as microgrids, distribution automation technology and flywheel storage in modernizing the grid.

My next stop: Atlanta, where I joined other keynote panelists at the Grid ComForum hosted by Southern Company and The Georgia Institute of Technology for a discussion on policy and regulation issues. The event addressed smart grid issues from the power utility perspective with a focus on business case development (including customer and stakeholder benefits), market drivers and marketing operations and policy concerns. Demonstrating the success of the smart grid in the marketplace is crucial.

Another highlight from this event was Southern’s account of being able to restore power more quickly following a series of severe storms and tornados because of the smart grid technologies they have in place. The final stop on my “road trip” was the University of Washington in Seattle, where I spoke at the “Washington Electric Energy Systems Symposium” about the impact of technology, markets and policy on the future of the grid. read more>>>